I'm now entering Book IV of Lord of the Rings. (I didn't take it along last weekend, not wanting the book to get banged up.) This is the absolute best way to luxuriate in it, in a beautiful edition that's a pleasure to hold and read, and with my old friend Gymrat periodically emailing with background invitation. The only way to make it better would be if I could take a couple opf days off to just read. On the other hand, then it would be finished faster.
I'm continuing to be astonished at how thorough and detailed the background is - Gymrat (possibly not the best pseudonom now but I don't have a better) tells me that assembling it was a lifelong hobby for Tolkien from long before he ever thought of publishing a book for sale. It gets tangly sometimes, with everyone having several names, and I confess to having to go look up some names and to not always remembering who is the forebear of whom, but I imagine later rereadings will take care of that.
Also, "Entings" is just adorable, though I'm less enamored of "Entwives".
I don't know the story behind the movies, whether they weren't made earlier by decision of Hollywood or of Tolkien's heirs. It is a good thing that they weren't made until they could be done right, but I'm astonished directors weren't champing at the bit to do it earlier. The writing is so visual - for example, the scene in front of Helm's Gate where orcs are boiling over the land, lit in flashes by lighting and striped by rain, must have had movie designers aching to make it happen.
I get the feeling that Tolkien enjoyed the ability to spread out, to spend an entire book in Aragorn and company's point of view and another in Sam's and Frodo's, and to take the time to make the Elves' long memories and the Ents' vegetative speed more credible, but it's not feeling bloated or in need of editing. There are certainly bits I'm not absorbing in detail, but again, that's for rereading.
I'm a fast reader. I'm not a fan of books that are long for length's sake or through lack of editing (because there's always another book to move on to, and I'd rather read two tight stories than one bloated one) but this one needs to be this big to fill its proper scope, and I'm actually enjoying the length because it gives me time to think about it in between, and because it means I get to stay in it longer. I'm already regretting being more than half through.
Like vegetable gardening is magic to me, making something 'real' like a sock must be very cool. Good job. As for my visit, I just laid out everything I'd want to see. The actual trip will vary. Time, distance, health, finances, whether I'm traveling with company, all will get factored properly with plenty of lead time. Plus there's the dogleg into San Diego to work around. I'm guessing Minarae is putting together a JournalCon, or just a KoolKidsKon. Don't know if this jamboree is an official JournalCon event. In any case, might be something you'd want to attend. Think on it. Now for the most important thing, what can I bring you from the east coast? Don't think I could manage a cheese steak, but I've lugged knish to Texas. Pickles, too. Got a hankerin' for home food? ~LA
Posted by: LA at March 22, 2005 08:13 PM